Post by Marlboro Man. Photos by Marlboro Man’s wife, also known as P-Dub.

(You can call her P-Widdy-Dub-Diddy-Diddy-Dub-Dub for short.)

We have three types of animals we run on our main ranch: cow/calf, yearlings and wild horses. We contract with the U.S. government to take care of wild horses gathered from government land out west. They contract with many different ranchers to take care of horses. In order to be awarded a wild horse contract, you have to have the ability to take care of a minimum of 500 horses and you have to go through a competitive bidding process.

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM), the agency in charge of all federal land, is responsible for maintaining the horses on federal lands in the western states. When they experience droughts or when the horse population gets too large, they are forced to gather some of the horses from the range to prevent them from overgrazing it. The excess horses are kept in holding pens; the younger horses are put up for adoption in various wild horse adoptions throughout the country, but the older horses don’t make good candidates for adoption. So the BLM will put out a bid for ranchers to take care of those horses on private lands.

As you can imagine, whenever you’re talking about the government and their care of wild horses, it can be a highly politicized issue. I won’t get into the politics here, but will just explain the BLM’s process, how we ended up with horses, and how the horses work in the management of our ranch.

The BLM prefers to contract with ranchers to take care of the excess horses because it’s cheaper and obviously more in line with their natural habitat than housing them in pens. Between my brother and my operations, we currently take care of a little over 3,400 horses.

A key component for the BLM when choosing contractors is that the potential contractor must have enough land to allow the horses room to roam. As part of the bidding process, you have to describe how you propose to stock and take care of the horses on your land. You have to put together a lengthy and exhaustive document where you describe your management process and the quality of your pens, fences, land, and water. The BLM wants to see maps and charts with pastures, acreage, pond counts per pasture, water volume per pond, grass species in each pasture, and the plan to maintain those grasses with a prudent stocking rate—all documented by a qualified third party. It’s the typical government paperwork/information overkill, but it’s part of their process of weeding out unqualified candidates.

The main reason we applied to run the horses was to diversify our operation so that we would have another source of cash flow besides cattle. In ranching, there aren’t many opportunities to diversify your cash flow. As part of the wild horse program, the government pays you per horse per day at the end of every month. Another key advantage to running the horses is that you don’t have millions of dollars tied up in inventory; when a horse dies of old age, it’s sad of course. But it doesn’t cost you a thousand dollars as it would if one of your cows or steers dies.

We got our first horses in 2003. We were awarded a contract to take care of mares. The BLM puts studs/geldings and mares on different ranches to prevent them from breeding and exacerbating the overpopulation problem they are continually trying to fix. In general, the horses are easier to take care of than cattle, but the first couple of years when they are getting acclimated and many of them are bred, they can be pretty difficult.

We started receiving the wild horses in September of that year. The acclimation process takes a couple of months of moving them from the pens to small traps to larger traps, then on to the larger pastures. During this transition, we feed the horses with our feed trucks in order to get them used to the trucks. This will ensure that when winter comes, the horses will know to come to the trucks to be fed. This is a time-consuming and labor-intensive process, but it’s necessary to minimize the stress of moving the horses to a new and strange environment.

Once we get the horses acclimated, the next challenge is weaning their foals. Since many of them arrive bred, the end of the first year they’re here, we have to gather them to the pens and wean any offspring. Because they are wild horses, this can be an interesting process that can certainly test one’s ability to handle livestock. Since we have received more horses over the years, the weaning process has been an ongoing thing—albeit on a much smaller scale than the first year. Here are a couple of Ree’s posts about weaning the colts.

Once we got past the initial onslaught of receiving and weaning, the horses became easier to take care of than cattle. With both cattle and the horses, you have to do your routine maintenance of feeding, putting out salt and mineral, periodic countings and taking care of fences. But with cattle, there’s much more working involved in order to keep them healthy. You have to doctor sick ones, treat foot-rots, prolapses, etc.—then you have the shippings, working the calves, processing the steers, shipping the steers, weaning calves, pregnancy testing the cows, managing the bulls, and more.

Aside from the cost of the land, the primary expense involved with running wild horses is feeding them through the winter. Here are some posts Ree has written about feeding the mustangs:

As part of our contract price, we are responsible for all the expenses related to taking care of the horses: the feed, land, salt, and all the equipment required to do our job. The government contracts with us to “keep them in good condition” and they inspect us annually to make sure we are.

They’re pretty smart about their inspections: for instance, they always do ours in February towards the end of winter when any negligence in feeding would definitely be obvious.

I like having the wild horses. Besides giving us a way to diversify our cash flow, they are fun to take care of. Watching a herd of horses run across the pasture is pretty cool, even for someone like me who has grown up around animals my whole life.

But there are disadvantages also. For one, the horses are less profitable than cattle—especially in today’s market. While you don’t have money tied up in inventory, you also aren’t seeing an appreciation of value that you get when you own the cattle. Another disadvantage is that they can be harder on the land than cattle. For me, that is the worst part.

It’s like anything, though: there are always pros and cons involved. Cattle are more profitable, but the horses take less work. The horses are harder on the country, but you also get a regular check every month. With cattle, you have money tied up in inventory, but you also can see some nice gains on that inventory when the market is good. We’re cowboys, so we like working cattle. That’s our job and part of our identity. But we also like taking care of the horses.

Let’s face it, they’re pretty cool. So it’s all just a balancing act of trying to do not only what will help you pay the mortgage, but also what you enjoy.

Other Posts You Might Enjoy

371 Comments and 32 Replies

301

Candi I On Wednesday, May 23 at 6:57 pm

Enjoyed the information and knowing the horses are in pretty good hands. Lovely images, as always. Thanks for the insights, including the pros and cons. It is comforting to know someone looks out for the horses, too.

302

Laura On Wednesday, May 23 at 7:11 pm

Wow – I think Marlboro Man’s posts are so interesting! I never thought ranching was something I would be capable of doing, but I had NO idea how much went into it. Also, he seems like an awesome husband Those Oklahoma men are the best!! (and I’m not from there, so you know it must be true).

303

Dana On Wednesday, May 23 at 8:16 pm

O.k…. I’ve been reading this blog for a while and had no idea you all had wild horses… this is the single most interesting thing you all do… awwwesooommme!

304

Marge On Wednesday, May 23 at 9:12 pm

Great post MM! Have you considered giving Mustang tours? Another possible way to diversify the income stream! Seeing some mustangs is on my “bucket list”!

305

mtmanor On Wednesday, May 23 at 9:30 pm

I know about the paperwork to weed out the unqualified. Congratulations on your perseverence. And thanks for all the posts. It’s like being home schooled, in my house

306

Desert Punky On Wednesday, May 23 at 9:45 pm

The absolute definition of ‘Freedom’ for me is to see a group of wild horses running across the pasture floor. I salute you for your offering of freedom to these innocent beauties and may the old west and wild horses live on forever.

307

Heather On Wednesday, May 23 at 10:53 pm

We live in Colorado where the wild horses are collected each year around the Bookcliffs. It is always fun to see a few horses out in the wild when you get the chance but to see this many together must be amazing! I thought most of them were sold and was not aware of them relocating them to simply exist. Thanks for giving them a good home!

308

Tammy On Thursday, May 24 at 1:12 am

Love this post, it explains so much. They all look so healthy, your ranch provides everything they need to thrive! If agriculture was taught in school in the manner that you and Ree present it, we’d have a lot more kids want to make this their career. It’s one of the few jobs that demands so much, but you truly love! Not many people can say that about their work.

310

Gwendolyn On Thursday, May 24 at 8:29 am

I’m glad you guys are taking care of them. I’ve never seen pictures of wild horses that were so fat and happy until I visited this site

311

Enid SPray On Thursday, May 24 at 12:13 pm

I am so happy there is sombody who is taking care of the wild horses and allowing them to maintain their wild side! I live in Maricoap AZ a small town about 20 miles south of Phoenix. There are wild hourses in the desert between us and Phoenix. My daughters and I always get excited to see them. Your horses however look much healthier!
Thank you
You may get a small paycheck, but it is a wonderful cause.

312

Katrina Zepeda On Thursday, May 24 at 1:43 pm

Wow – I really enjoy your simplified explanations! If only government could learn from you!
I love learning about new things!

What a blessing you and your wife are to the blogging world!

313

Grandmere Joanie On Thursday, May 24 at 5:29 pm

What a great post. You guys rock – really.

314

Donna On Thursday, May 24 at 5:54 pm

I am just amazed that a sweet mama, way out on a cattle ranch, isolated and secluded, can touch the world with beauty and majesty and….her own heart. It give me such hope that if she can, so can I.

Really interesting. I didn’t realize the BLM paid private ranchers to just keep the wild horses and care for them. One point, though: the BLM does not manage all federal land in the West. They manage most of the areas where wild horses live, but not even all of those. Other land managing agencies include the Forest Service and the Park Service. The Fish and Wildlife Service manages smaller areas in bird and wildlife refuges.

316

Chantal On Thursday, May 24 at 6:43 pm

Thank you Ladd and Ree for this incredible blog and the fascinating posts about your lives with kids, cattle, horses and dogs on the OK range. What a life! So good of you both to take the time to add to the blog at the end of a busy day–know that it is appreciated. You’re reminding some, teaching others, about a precious part of American life. I think I see a book about the cowboy life in modern times starting on these pages, with both of you writing, using Ree’s photos!
I grew up years ago on a horse and cattle farm in the East that was run more like a western ranch. A huge operation, but a really good life. Your blog makes me nostalgic for those days, yet thrilled to know they still live on on the Drummond ranch in Oklahoma!

317

RuthWW On Thursday, May 24 at 8:17 pm

I know this question has been posed before me, but are you allowed to cut a mare out of the herd and break her? Are you allowed to sell any of them?

318

Dottie in Nevada On Thursday, May 24 at 9:32 pm

You have no idea how happy I am to see that you are taking such wonderful care of these magnificent horses. Living in Nevada, we have wild horses,I only hope some of our horses made it to your ranch.
When we first bought our house in a new development, we were told about the horses and that we were not to feed them or harass them in any way. I loved seeing them out my kitchen window. At night you could here them walking down the street. We had a small herd of 7 that would bed down on our front lawn at night. I didn’t care that they were eating my newly planted grass or the leaves off my trees. But then soon enough they were gathered up and gone. I miss them, but still see some every so often.
Thank you for taking care of our horses !

319

Alissa On Thursday, May 24 at 10:32 pm

Beautifully said. You are fortunate to have such entertaining options for your land!

320

Kirsten On Friday, May 25 at 12:22 am

Great post, MM. I agree with the many others that truly enjoyed reading and learning more about these amazing animals. Totally new perspective for me, thanks! If I could come live with you tomorrow and work for free tending to these majestic animals, I’d be there in a minute. Until then, thanks and much respect from Montana and my herd of seven (including my mustang, Red, from the Wind River range in WY).

Wow that was awesome!!! Very very interesting Thank you so much for sharing loved it!

322

Krista On Friday, May 25 at 4:01 pm

Just curious, but what is the life expectancy of a wild horse? Is it a lot different than your ranch horses? I didn’t realize that you had that many horses on your ranch…so I was just curious how many new ones you get each year, and how long they usually live, what you do with them after they die? (I know, weird, but I’m curious.)

323

GingerR On Friday, May 25 at 6:17 pm

Nice post.

It highlights how hard it is to tame the Federal deficit. Is is really worth it for our nation to borrow money to pay ranchers to board wild horses? It improves farm incomes, that’s g
ood, but what other benefits does it bring?

I don’t blame you or your family in the least for taking up the opportunity, you have a family to take care of and this is income. There are lot of programs in the budget that appeal to someone, often to many groups, how do we decide what’s really important?

Runuma On Friday, June 15 at 4:34 pm

Ginger it’s more an issue that nobody knows what to do with these horses.

I’ll try and keep this short, but that’s never my strong suit.

The US used to allow horse slaughter for human consumption. Horse meat is very popular in Europe and Mexico and some other countries.

This was an outlet for sick, aged, injured or untrainable/dangerous horses of all types, and kept the market from getitng over-saturated.

Theoretically the BLM does have the right to slaughter horses, but as Mr. Drummond alluded, it’s a highly political issue, and not an option they are likely to avail themselves of.

With rescues full of horses that previously would have gone to slaughter, the demand for mustangs is down dramatically from what it was at it’s peak when you had to enter a lottery and hope your number got picked or bid on them at auction style adoption events.

We may see the slaughter picture change here in the US, the USDA is again certifying facilities to slaughter horses for human consumption. If this goes through, in all likelyhood you’ll see the populations in LTH facilities drop, probably through natural attrition. If not, expect the problem to worsen unless the BLM finds an effective way to slow birth rates while maintaining genetic diversity. Right now that is another hot political issue.

Meanwhile, the BLM is charged with caring for all these horses, they have to go somewhere.

The cost for this isn’t as high as you might think. Ranchers don’t get paid a whole lot per head. This is never really anything other than a form of diversification. You’d be hard pressed to make a living at it without some other main business.

324

Charity On Friday, May 25 at 8:49 pm

thanks so much! Any care given to needy animals is worthwhile! I am a part of a horse rescue in South Ga. Normally, we rescue 2-3 horses from owners who are no longer able to care for them. We have recently in the past 6 months, rescued over 130 horses involving law enforcement. This has been extremely taxing on our resources. Most of the horses are adoptable, but because of the pending court cases, we are unable to adopt them out. The horse rescue has kindly taken on this task. I admire anyone who is able and willing to rescue any animals. Cudos to you!

325

HorseLover On Saturday, May 26 at 12:45 am

A big thank you to Marlboro Man for writing such an awesome blog about the wild mustangs that are rounded up from the public lands as well as the role the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) plays in managing these magnificent animals.

BLM has a tough job as they also must perform a balancing act in managing the public lands for multiple-use. There are no easy answers for how to manage the wild horse populations, as well as rangelands, drilling, public recreation,etc.

Thank you for providing a safe sanctuary for the older, unadoptable mustangs. While I am currently the owner of an American Quarter Horse, I dream of the day that I will be able to adopt a wild mustang. They are very smart and can be trained to do almost anything!

326

Julie On Saturday, May 26 at 9:26 am

Thoroughly enjoyed reading this blog. The horses are absolutely beautiful! Thanks for sharing with us!

327

Tonya Taber On Saturday, May 26 at 5:46 pm

Great job helping to explain it to the city folks.

You guys do such a great job with them. Thank you.

328

Cindy M On Saturday, May 26 at 9:07 pm

Making money is not everything this is a great cause! They are beautiful creatures who did not ask to be displaced! Thanks to people like you they have a second chance at life. Thank You! =)

329

Sherrie On Sunday, May 27 at 8:12 am

I loved the pictures and you cleared up some miss-information I had on the horses.
I have been amazed at how healthy they look! Thanks for taking such good care of them.

330

goosefeathers On Sunday, May 27 at 9:14 am

This was wonderful to read. I’m away on vacation for a couple of weeks but it’s always fun to catch up with PW, and I was very happy to see another one of these enlightening posts from MM. Thank you – it’s always a pleasure.

Thanks for sharing this info with all of us. There is so much controversy surrounding the mustang management, it’s nice to see some of them (well, 3400+ is a LOT of them) having good lives, in spite of being transplanted off their native range by BLM. It made me so happy that I wrote about it in our company’s email newsletter here. http://archive.constantcontact.com/fs009/1101533203510/archive/1110095557737.html

332

Dena Hight On Sunday, May 27 at 12:42 pm

Thank you soooo much Ree for helping (some) mustangs!! I sure wish I could! Or I wish I could help with your costs. You are doing a wonderful thing. May God bless you! (over & over again!)

BLM mustangs are what drew us to South Dakota in Jan 2003. We came to volunteer at the Black Hills Wild Horse Sanctuary in Hot Springs, liked the area, bought land andare now ‘homesteading’ on our own acreage with two rescued quarter horses, three, soon to be at least nine (two preg does with tripet histories), chickens dogs and a garden.

The horses you have seem to beso much healthier than the ones we knew 9 yearsa ago, it’s unbelievable.

Keep up the good work.

BTW, we just found your site today,my wife is prowling your site on her laptop as I send this on our tablet…tether access to our cell tower.

Fr. Chip (Anglican, not Roman!

335

Sarah On Monday, May 28 at 7:21 pm

Very interesting about weaning the foals. I can understand why you would need to wean the young of domestic livestock, but am wondering why the foals of wild horses would need to be weaned. I grew up on a farm the next state over from yours, but I admit to knowing very little. I found that the more I learned, the more work I was qualified for! Hahaa. Wish I had learned more anyway. Certainly miss a lot of aspects of farm life! Thanks for sharing part of yours.

Runuma On Friday, June 15 at 4:20 pm

Sarah, I gather from reading the various posts linked in this one, they only gather the colts to be sent back to the BLM.

If they were not culled, they would become stallions, and by some estimates band size can double every 5 years.

There already not enough LTH facilities and many BLM field offices are similarly overpopulated. It would be a disaster if the long term holding horses started breeding, so getting the colts out of there is essential.

Definitely, what a splendid site and illuminating posts, I surely will bookmark your blog.Have an awsome day!

337

Chantal On Tuesday, May 29 at 9:46 pm

Ladd and Ree, you can see from over 350 responses on your site for one post just how popular learning about all facets of ranch life, the animals, the chores, and your family is with your fans. The blogs go hand-in-hand with PW’s show on the Food Network. . .nice to watch how Ree and the producers interweave shots of MM and the kids (and Josh!) into every show. It’s my favorite of all the FN cooking shows, and I’d love to see hour-long segments a few times a year, with lots more discussed, like *this* blog entry on your wild horse herd. So much of your day-to-day life is entertaining and educational for city slickers, not just for foodies.
Why not consider a promo prize for five lucky winner fans who enter via the website (pattern it after HGTV house contests, entering daily) where Food Network and sponsors subsidize their trip to the ranch (say, a 3-day trip, staying at the Lodge, cooking and filming with Ree, then one day on the ranch learning to herd cattle on horseback)? Film the winners eating with the family, cuddling with Charlie (and Josh)! Great publicity, and you have readers and viewers who genuinely would treasure the experience! Just a thought. Pass it on to the powers that be–and let the kids and MM pick the final winners from a cowboy hat! Head ‘em up, move ‘em on, Rawhide!

New reader! Found your blog when I googled canning strawberry jam! Thanks for that too. So now I am a new reader/stalker. Loved this post. The horses are georgous. What an opportunity you have been chosen for. Love love love the west!
Now I want to be a rancher!

339

Retired Nurse, lover of the ranch/farm life On Friday, June 1 at 7:39 am

There’s nothing more beautiful than watching the horses run when they are happy and content. Beautiful job that you are doing, I am envious…… LOL

340

Erica On Friday, June 1 at 12:29 pm

Thank you for posting on this topic. I’ve wondered about your mustang herd before. I’m familiar with the mustang sales but I wasn’t sure how they maintained the whole lot of ‘em.

341

Amy Jeanne On Sunday, June 3 at 3:21 am

Thank you for sharing about the wild horses. I loved reading this post, as well as the other six posts you linked into it. The pictures were amazing. I especially loved the ones with the wild horses running and running and running. It must be beautiful to see their manes and tales flow in the breeze and hear their thundering hooves pound over the pastures. It must feel a bit like “The Man from Snowy River” there on the Drummond Ranch when you’re rounding them up.

Thank you for sharing your life there on the ranch with those of us who may never get the joy of seeing a herd of mustangs running free in this ever-modernizing world.

342

Handful On Tuesday, June 5 at 3:06 pm

These photos are absolutely breathtaking! I, for once am speechless.

343

ava laxton On Thursday, June 14 at 6:09 am

Ladd, we too have had horses our entire 36 years of married life. Not like this of course but for many years we raised Quarter horses. Our stud was an own son of Zippo pine bar. I have read many negative things about your horse operation by people that are ignorant to what it takes to care for horses. You are correct, they are hard on the land and that is a huge draw back. Factor in the labor, expense, time etc. it is not an easy responsibility. Good luck to you and your beautiful family!!!

344

Karen Van De Walle On Friday, June 15 at 1:18 am

MM,

I am an Agriculture instructor in Iowa and I have a couple of questions. First, are the horses freeze branded before they come to your ranch? Do you have to do counts daily, or weekly, etc. Do they ever leave your ranch? Very interesting post. I learned tons of information that I will share with my students.!

Thanks! Karen Van De Walle

345

Runuma On Friday, June 15 at 4:15 pm

Ever since my husband and I got our two mustangs, we have wondered about this program. I expect financially it’s not really feasible unless you are a large cattle operation, and certainly the scale is more than we care to take on, but at least some of the questions we had have been answered, so my sincere thanks for that.

It may be too personal a question, but do you mind sharing how many acres you use in managing that many horses beyween hay and grazing?

My husband and I have discussed simply taking in as many sale authority horses as we feel we can responsibly support (mares and geldings only, for obvious reasons) so they are not on the government’s budget. It’s a drop in the bucket, but it would allow us to have a small, pampered, semi-wild herd.

I don’t know what we’ll end up doing, but we both love the two mustangs we have now, we love watching them at the pens…. We just feel called to support these wonderful animals in some way, so this post was especially dear to our hearts. Thank you. Again.

I watched a show on the History Channel, “How the States Got Their Shapes”. In this particular episode, it stated the largest working cattle ranch is in Florida. While I know that Florida has several large cattle ranches, I have my doubts that the largest is there. The King Ranch in Texas comes to mind. Do you know where the largest cattle ranch is located?

Thanks,

L. Prado

Runuma On Saturday, June 16 at 7:20 pm

Lynette, the interwebs say King Ranch is the largest, Waggoner the largest contiguous, and the largest (more than what, 8 times larger than King) is in Australia. I wonder how many cattle you could actually run on that 6,000,000,000 acres. Imagine finding water.

According to Google, the Mormon church is one of the largest cattle operations in the US as well.

Who knew?

347

Kristi On Sunday, June 17 at 10:08 pm

I have had the opportunity to tour a couple of the long term holding facilities and the horses are really well cared for on those ranches. I have to agree, seeing a herd of horses wild and free running across the land is really cool. Humbling in a way. I ride mustangs and use mine to educate the public about how trainable they are in hopes of finding just one horse a home. Mustangs are very smart and trainable horses and I LOVE mine…all eight of them! I also have three BLM burros that are just awesome. Thanks for opening your ranch to be a long term holding facility!

348

Mary L On Wednesday, June 20 at 2:10 pm

Thank you for taking care of these horses. I’m glad it is a beneficial program both ways.

I don’t think I’d ever be a good rancher – I love good beef but I’d get too attached to the cattle. I imagine if you are a rancher, though, you know how not to do that.

Hang in there! God’s blessings to you and your entire family.

349

Jane Harned On Thursday, June 28 at 5:18 pm

Wow, I wish more people had your husbands(and yours too!) heart and duty to family. I have loved and been around horses (actually all four legged animals) all my life. I married a wonderful marlboro man myself, although we do not live on a farm or ranch we love that way of life. My cowboy, Rock (his real birth name) runs his family owned BBQ resturant with his 3 brothers (one has passed away this past August). Harneds Drive-In has been around for over 50+ years and we even have the official car-hops (not on roller skates) that will greet you at your truck or car to take your order or you can come inside and sit a spell too! We, the brothers, are the fourth generation and all of thechildren have or are working at the resturant, (none of the wives work there, I call them the BBQ-Mafia!)) My Rock has the same values as your Marboro Man and they are what drew me to him. He would say my grandfather always told me to do the right thing no matter how much you dont want to, it is the only way you will ever learn anything!! He would be so proud of Rock who he has become thru his teachings. I am sure Rocks grandparents (both sets), Mom & Dad and his brother watch over him every day.

We have 2 beautiful daughters one is married who had our first grandson, Cole, and are expecting another boy around July 28th! Our other daughter showed AQHA for 20yrs and really loves it but collage got in the way. She has her master degree in Agriculture/Animal Science. She is very involved in AG/FFA and is moving to West Virginia to be closer to her cowboy, Jarrett who team ropes. Rock calf roped for years and the older he got the harder it was to dismount and daly that calf so he slowed down to help our youngest go up and down the road showing her horse. I was the official groomer and trail rider. I just dont find going around in a pen fun, I want to see, hear and feel my riding and sometimes I do FEEL a little to much!!! I knew when I started reading your book that I would love it and LOVE IT I DID! I just wanted to drop an *At A Girl/Guy* to you and Marboro man and to say its nice to read something that is so true and powerful and that your way of life is something to be profoundly proud of and I pray you continue this journey for a long time to come.

Cant wait for the next cookbook, Ohhhhh do you have any great diabetic receipes?
Please forgive the rattling!!!!

I am hooked on your show. It is my 6 am Saturday relaxing call with the dogs. Thought I would finally check out your website. Low and behold you have a section that tugs at my heart strings. Wild horses are on my “bucket list” to see. Thank you and your family for taking care of the magnificant creatures! It is a big responsibility.

351

Martha M On Sunday, July 8 at 12:55 pm

Thanks so much for helping with the wild horse situation in our country.

352

Justine G On Monday, July 9 at 2:01 am

I thought of PW when I heard that the OK state legislature wants the govt to stop the funding that gives the wild horses a home off the range. How terrible – these are the only animals to have a unanimous Act of Congress declared on their behalf! They are true American symbols of freedom and deserve the protection you are giving them.

What will OK gain by doing this? It makes no sense. I hope that you will let them know how much so many of us across America love seeing the wild horses on your blog. It would be a very unpopular for OK if the wild horses were harmed by what they’re doing!

Thank you so much for taking those wild horses. I live in Nevada. We Nevadans have lots of wild horses on BLM land.

354

Vickie On Thursday, July 12 at 12:02 pm

I admire your endeavor of preserving the lives of so many wild horses, especially in a world that does not always show diligence in preserving aspects of our past. They are also symbols of our independence and the determined ranchers and farmers. I can imagine the chill of seeing them run across the range.

Debra Burbage On Tuesday, July 17 at 12:35 pm

I really enjoyed reading about the wild horses. I love all animals, but horses hold a special place in my heart.

357

Linda Watson On Tuesday, July 17 at 1:17 pm

Ree, I just finished reading your book. I think I read it quicker than any book I have ever read. I could not put it down. It was very similar to my courtship with my husband. After ever date he would call and tell me goodnight too. I was raised on a dairy farm and he raised beef cattle. Ours is called a farm being in southern middle Tennessee and tiny compared to the ranches out west. I love your cooking show and your cookbooks. Keep up the good work.

358

carolyn On Wednesday, July 18 at 1:30 pm

Had to have a visit, didn’t know I would get a 4th of July celebration w/ comments only P W could write and all the summer trips photos. But then there was more! MM working of ranch are so real and a delight for this suburbanite with family still on Kansas farms. MM could have a program if he wasn’t so busy ranching-which is more than a full time job.

359

Jan H On Sunday, July 22 at 2:54 pm

I always wondered about the number of horses in your herds seemed like a crazy quantity unless you were raising horses and cattle. It makes sense now – this is fantastic. I wish people really understood how difficult it is to manage the wild horse herds. People just think “leave them alone” and certainly in some areas that may be enough. But when they encroach on the feeding grounds that ranchers depend on to raise the livestock that they make their living off of it just isn’t that simple. Nor is watching a herd starve to death for lack of grazing land.

It sounds like this is a great compromise, and although you say they aren’t “alot” of extra work it isn’t a great deal of day to day work – all that winter feeding of both your cattle and the horses means you are earning every dollar you get.

Keep up the good work – look forward to more details about how your place runs.

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Heather Phillips On Monday, August 6 at 9:43 am

I took a road trip with my soon to be dtr in law yesterday. We were driving on hwy 60. Seen horses in the field… alot of horses. I was in awe. I had never seen a field of horses before. They were beautiful. Just beautiful. On our way back, we stopped and took some pictures. While telling a coworker, she said it was Ree’s horses. Just amazing. I had never in my life, seen a field of horses. Thanks for making my day…….

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Elaine On Saturday, August 11 at 9:50 pm

I think the information in this entry was facinating. I did not know that such a program existed and that one had to go through the process you went through. I am happy that a person who has the respect of these noble animals is caring for them.

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SMNJhorselover On Wednesday, August 15 at 9:12 pm

Wow. I can’t speak for anyone else but I for one would PAY to see the horses run wild on your land. Have you ever considered giving tours (not the right terminology) but I mean there are so few places you can see wild horses so I would imagine there would be some money to be made which would help off set the costs incurred and you would be making some dreams come true for those of us who have always dreamed of seeing horses in the wild. Might be more trouble than it’s worth, I don’t know. But I sure as heck would pay to see it!

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mkl On Friday, August 17 at 1:14 pm

I own a QH-Mustang and appreciate the temperament. They can be sensitive and rough horses but sturdy and sure footed.

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Kaitlyn On Tuesday, August 21 at 10:27 am

I used to own a palomino mustang mare – it was definitely an expericence – do you ever sell the colts? If you do I would love to own one! Thanks!!

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Rita On Friday, August 24 at 10:33 am

Love MM’s posts…..always so informative!

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Gin On Tuesday, August 28 at 12:20 pm

I WANT TO LIVE ON A RANCH. I love your life. You live in the country surrounded by land. You have a cowboy for a husband, you home school your children, you are a great cook. I want to live on a ranch. I want to raise horses. But I dont know anything about raising animals. I bought my son one of those tiny turtles and I thought turtles loved sun (New Mexico sun) and so I put him/her outside and fried him. Same with the lizard we had. Our bird disappeard. My dad had animals when I was a kid. He had a couple cows, goats, pigs, miniture horses, dogs, no cats though my dad didnt like cats. Is there a way to learn how to be a rancher? I am in my late thirties, a woman, my husband is a city man. It seems that to be a rancher you had to grow up knowing about it. I live in southern New Mexico I dont know if I could take care of wild horses here. How much land would I need? Oh gosh, maybe I could magically turn my husband into a cowboy hahaha.

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karen fritz On Friday, September 7 at 1:26 pm

Thank you so much for taking care of thes magnificent animals. I was not aware of this program and I was concerned about them being protected.

karen

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ShawnaB On Monday, September 10 at 12:08 am

I love hearing stories of the wild horses and how they are taken care of. I know a lady that got a beautiful mare at auction. i just love her. She is so sweet. Both the lady and the mare. XD

Thank you so much for taking the wild horses. I am originally from Illinois and had no clue that there was so much of a problem when it came to the wild herds. I followed my sailor to NV, where he is originally from, and have been devastated by BLM and the way they handle the horses out here. We have had many ranchers offer their land and to separate their herds (of whatever animal) from the wild herds. Instead of taking up these offers, the horses are rounded up and stuck in small confines. They have even started breaking their legs when there are too many in the pens. They sit neck to rump and in filth.

It is devastating and I want to thank you for at least saving some of these glorious creatures.

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wendy susak On Monday, September 17 at 3:47 pm

Thank you for posting all these beautiful pictures. The posts that you all make are great, and I learn something new each time. Thank you both for being such amazing people!